Carpet-sweeper.



N0. 669,690. Patented Mar. I2, I90]. J. F. HARDY.

CARPET SWEEPEB.

(Application filed Nov. 27, 1899.)

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Patented Mar. 12, MIDI.

J. F. HARDY.

CARPET SWEEPER.

{Application filed. Nov. 27, 1899.)

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No. 669,690.. Patented Mar. I2, mm. .1. F. HARDY.

- CARPET SWEEPER.

' A umim filed Nov. 27, 1899.)

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UNITED STATES FFICE.

JOHN F. HARDY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CARPET-SWEEPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 669,690, dated March 12, 1901.

Application filed November 27, 1899- :erial No 738,297. (No model.)

To all whom 2175 may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN F. HARDY, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Carpet-Sweepers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention embraces certain improvements in carpet-sweepers of that class which comprise a casing, a rotating brush in the forward end thereof, driving-wheels in the rear end of the casing which have contact with the floor, and driving connections between said wheels and the brush for rotating the latter.

The invention relates to a novel form of casing which incloses said brush, to novel driving connections between the driving-wheel and brush, to a novel form of sweeping-pan and its connections with the sweeper, and to various other improvements, as will hereinafter appear.

Certain of the improvements may be employed with other forms of sweepers.

The invention consists in the matters herei inafter set forth, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side view of a sweeper made in accordance with my invention, with parts broken away. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section thereof, broken at the center. Fig. 3 is horizontal section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1, broken at the center. Fig. 4 is a view similar to that shown in Fig. 2, with the dust-pan in a changed position. Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken through the brushcore, the figure being broken at the center. Fig. 6 is a broken view of the front end of the sweeping-pan, taken vertically through the supporting -wheeis thereof. Fig. 7 is a cross-section taken on line 7 7 of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a detail view showing the manner of mounting the brush-core shaft. Figs. 9, 10, and 11 are detail views of the reversing'gears between the drivingwheel and the brushshaft.

As shown in the drawings, A designates the inclosing casing,,com1r n-ising side walls a a,

a rigid top wall a, a rear wall of, and a front wall a The side, top, and rear walls are made of rigid material, such as sheet metal, while the front wall or brush end of the easing is constructed so as to be capable of being collapsed inwardly.

B designates a rotating brush mounted horizontally in the front end of the casing and projecting at its lower end below the casing, so as to have contact with the floor.

G C designate driving wheels in the rear end of the casing, mounted rigidly on a shaft C, which has rotative hearings in the side walls of the casing. Driving connections are provided between said driving-shaft and the brush for rotating the latter from the former. Said driving connections are so constructed that the brush will be rotated in the same direction-that is, in a forward direction-during both the forward and the backward movement of the sweeper. Said driving connections will be first explained and are made as follows: The driving connections in this instance consist of a train of gears between said driving-shaft and the brush, the same embracing two idle gear-wheels D D, which rotate loosely on a shaft D projecting outwardly from one of the side walls of the casing. As herein shown, said gear-wheels are provided with hubs d d, attached as shown. Said hubs meet at their inner ends centrally of the shaft. B designates a gear-pinion which is mounted on a gudgeon B connected with the brush, and meshes with the idle gearwheel D. B designates an idle pinion, which also meshes with the brush-pinion 113 on the one hand and with the other idle gear-wheel D. When the gear-wheel D is driven, it acts to rotate the brush-pinion in a forward direction. At this time the idle gear D is not driven, but rotates loosely on its shaft, and the pinion B also rotates loosely on its shaft. When, however, the gear-wheel D is driven, the gear-wheel D will be idle and said wheel D will transmit motion through the pinion B to the brush-pinion and rotate said brush in a forward direction. C C designate driving gear-wheels mounted side by side on the said shaft 0 and which normally rotate loosely thereon. Said gear-wheels G O mesh with the idle gear-wheels D D, respectively, and are adapted to be severally locked to the driving-shaft by suitable mechanism, whereby one of said wheels will act to rotate one of the idle gear-wheels and there-' through the brush, at which time the other driving gear-wheel will be idle on the shaft. Said wheels 0 C are provided with hubs c o. The construction of said driving gearwheels and the manner of severally locking the same to the driving-shaft are as follows: The wheel 0 embraces a ring, which is provided on its periphery with a'series of circumferential teeth or cogs, which mesh with complementary cogson the loose gear D, and is provided also on its inner margin with a circular series of ratchet-teeth c. The central opening of said ring is made considerably larger than the hub on which it is mounted, and a bearing for said wheel is provided through the medium of an apertureddisk G which is attached to the outer'face of the ring and to the hub. Instead of the driving gearwheel being made of two parts 0 C the parts may be made integral and hollowed out on one side. to providespace for the annular series of ratchet-teeth The other pinio'n C i's made similar to the pinion described, comprising a ring provided with external gearteeth with an internal series of ratchet-teeth The ratchet-teeth on the Wheel C faces in a direction opposite to that of the ratchetteeth on the wheel 0 The idle gear-wheel D is madesmaller than the wheel D in order to avoid contact with the brush-pinion B, and the pinion G which meshes with said-smaller gear-wheel, istherefore made of larger diameter than the pinion D which meshes with the gear D.

C designates a pivoted pawl which is connected with the driving shaft and adapted to have alternate engagement with the ratchetteeth 0 c of the driving gear-wheels, (1 O Said pawl is pivoted upon the free end of an arm G which is rigid with the driving-shaft. Th'e pawl is herein shown as made of sheet metal and provided on its opposite margins with integral lugs and pivoted to said'arm by a pin 0 passing through said ing and arm. The ends of the pawl are offset from each other, so as to bring each end thereof opposite to the series of ratchet-teeth which it is adapted to engage. I With this construction when the sweeper is being moved forward and the driving-shaft is rotating forwardly the pawl will be brought into engagement with the ratchet-teeth c of the wheel 0 and thereby lock said wheel to the shaft, so that it will rotate therewith. If, however, the sweeper be moved backwardly,the shaft will be driven in a rearward direction and cause said pawl to engage with the ratchet-teeth c of the pinion C and thereby lock said last-mentioned pinion to the driving-shaft. Such movement of the pawl will disengage the same from the ratchet-teeth 0 with which it was pivotally engaged.

When the sweeper is moved in a forward direction, it will act through the driving gearwheel 0 the idle gear-wheel D, and the brushpinion to move the brush in a forward direction and when moving baokwardlyit will act through the driving gear-Wheel C the idle gear-pinion D, the idle pinion B and the brush-pinion to move said brush in the same direction, the interposition of the idle pinion maintaining the same direction of movement with both the forward and backward movements of the sweeper;

The above-described gear connections are protected by being covered by a shield E, which is made of sheet metal and bent to proper form and is provided at its margins with flanges e, by which it is secured to the adjacent side wall of the casing. The drivingshaft and gudgeon B and the stationary shaft D extend at their outer ends in contact with said shield, and the hubs d d c c on the shaftsD 'and C are held in place by such Contact. This construction therefore maintains the gears D D C and pinion B in their proper positions without the necessity of other attaching means. I V

The support for the brush is made in two parts-"n'ainely, thegudgeon part B and a pin B which passes through the opposite side wall of the casing andeng'ages an axial socket in the end of the brush-core B and forms a stub-shaft upon which the core B rotates. Said pin is provided with a screw-threaded section which 'engagesan interior screwthreaded disk B", which is interposed between said brush-core and the inner surface of the adjacent wall of the casing. Saiddisk and the head of the pin act as'a clamping means jto hold the pin axially in place with respect to the brush-core. The gudgeoh B is provided at its point of bearing with the casing wall with a cyl'i ndric enlargement b. The gudgeon is driven tightly into the core, and a washer b', which fits tightly'thereover, is interposed between said enlargement and the "core'a'nd serves to provide a shoulder on the gudge'on of large diameter for contact with the core, and thereby affords a rigid connection of the gudgeon to the shaft. The gudgeon will be first inserted in place and the brush located within the casing by passing the gudgeon through a slot 61,5 in the adjacent casing-wall, the rear end of which constitutes a bearing for the 'gudg'eon. The means for holding the gudgeon in place will hereinafter appear. Thereafter the pin B will be inserted in place to form the bearing for the opposite end of the roller.

As before stated, the brush end of the easing is made collapsible, so that it will yield inwardly when it strikes an object, .aud the brush is located Within said collapsible end. The purpose of such an arrangement is, first, to permit the brush of the sweeper to be adva'nced closely to a perpendicular object, suchas the base-board of a room oran article of furniture, so that the brush may be brought into contact with all parts of the carpet or the part of the carpet closely adjacent to such object, and, secondly, to prevent the -IIO brush comingin actual contact with such perpendicular object and depositing thereon sweepings which may cling to the brush, as

would occur if the brush protruded from the e the top wall.

casing. Said brush end of the casing is herein shown made of a flexible material, such as a piece of canvas, which is attached at its rear margins to the top and side walls of the easing. The brush is so mounted in the easing that the forward part thereof projects beyond the forward ends of the rigid side and top walls, so that the sweeper may be pushed with some force against a perpendicular object on the carpet without danger of the rigid parts of the casing coming in contact therewith. The said flexible end wall a overhangs such projecting part of the brush and extends at its lower edge to within a short distance of the lower surface of the brush. As a convenient means of attaching the flexible end wall of the casing to the rigid Walls the canvas forming said flexible wall is provided for the greater part of its width,

at its rear margin, with a Wide hem 01, into which is inserted a strip A, and said strip is bent to conform to the exterior contour of the side and top walls of the casing, which it overlies and to which it is attached by screws or like means. In the present instance the hem a is provided in said flexible canvas only in the parts thereof which engage the side wall remote from the driving-pinion and The part of said canvas which is attached to the other side wall is herein shown as provided with the smaller hem of, within which isinserted a wire or rod a and said strip is held in place by being clamped between the adjacent side wall and the margin of the shield E. Thepin B forming the part stub-shaft for the brush, passes through one end of said strip A and aids to hold the same in place. The strip A extends downwardly on the side wall of the casing containing said slot a and is provided at its lower end with a vertical lug aflwhich when the gudgeon B is in place passes in front of the same and acts to hold it in the rearmostpart of the bearing-slot a When it is desired to remove said shaft, the strip A will then be moved upwardly out of the plane of the slot and the said brush-gudgeon may be moved outwardly'through said slot.

As a means for holding the flexible end wall a of the casing in its proper position and also to prevent small objects, such as the legs of chairs or tables, from being pressed too far inwardly into the pliable brusha guard A is provided, which extends transversely across the casing, at the front end thereof, and is attached at its rear margin to the forward end of the upper wall of the casing and interposed at its free edge between said fiexible wall and the brush. Said guard A is made of spring material, preferably spring metal, and preferably extends with its lower end near a horizontal plane passing through the axes of the brush and is so arranged as to normally hold the flexible wall a just out of contact with the brush. Said guard being made of spring metal permits the front wall to yield when the sweeper is moved againsta perpendicular stationary object and serves to return the same to its normal position when moved out of contact with said object. Said guard is made of thin light material and offers little or no resistance to rearward flexure when the sweeper is moved against an upright object, it being only necessary that it be made sufficiently heavy to hold the flexible front wall of the casing in its proper position. The flexible brush end of the casing may be otherwise constructed, it only being necessary that said brush end yield or collapse inwardly when forcibly moved against a stationary object, so as to permit the brush to more closely approach the object than if the casing were entirely rigid. The rear parts ct of said collapsible brush end of the casingat the sides of the sweeper are parallel with and overlap the rigid side walls of the casing and form, in fact, the front ends of the side walls of the casing. Said parts a, supplement the rigid walls Ct of the casing to form the side closures for the brush and other parts of the mechanism of the sweeper and permit the front wall as to move rearwardly when the sweeper is moved into contact with an upright object on the floorand enables the brush to sweep entirely to the same.

F designates a sweepings-pan which is lo cated within the casing in rear of the brush and in position to receive the sweepings therefrom. Said pan is made generally rectangular at its front end and is made narrower at its rear end to fit within the driving-wheels and comprises end walls f, front and rear walls ff and a bottom wallf Said pan is supported in the casing by being pivoted at its rear end upon a rod F, which extends transversely across the casing near the lower edges of the side walls and at its front end upon laterally-separated supporting-wheels F which project below the same, so as to have contact with the floor. Said pan is preferably made from sheet metal and is herein shown as made from a single piece of sheet metal.

As a means of connecting the supportingwheels with the pan, lugs f are placed upon the bottom wall thereof near the side walls and are bent at right angles to the bottom wall. F designates a shaft which projects through apertures in the upper ends of the lugs and upon which said supportingwheels are mounted between the lugs and side walls. The shaft is held in place by having contact at its ends with the side walls of the pan. The openings formed by removal of the material forming the lugs f contain the supporting-wheels F Said lugs are located at IIO walls. The end wall of the pan is folded rearwardly over the supporting-wheels and supporting-wheel shaft to alford a dust-guard F for the same, said dust-guard extending to the bottom wall of the pan. In setting the pan up the supporting-wheel lugs will first be cut or stamped and bent up into proper position and the shaft 1 inserted in place the rein. The supporting -wheels are thereafter located properly on the shaft and the side walls folded up in proper position into contact with the ends of the shaft and the sides of said supporting-wheels. The dust-guard F and rear wall of the pan may be bent into position either before orafter the folding upwardly of the side walls.

The dust-pan is operatively connected with the handle of the brush in such manner that it may be tilted by proper manipulation of the handle to dump the sweepings. This construction is made asfollows: G designates a handle of ordinary form provided with forked ends g g, which are attached to the side of the casing in such manner that the handle may be swung or oscillated in a vertical plane with respect to the casing to bring the handle into proper position for sweeping and for other purposes. One fork g of the handle is connected with the shield E. The other fork g is connected with the opposite side walls of the casing. The extreme end of the last-mentioned fork is extended some distance inwardly past the side Wall of the casing and is provided at its extreme inner end with a crank-arm G, which crank-arm is provided at its outer end with the crank-pin G H designates a link which is pivotally connected at its lower end with a pin f connected with the pan at one side thereof, and it has pivotal engagement at its upper end with the crank-pin G The pivotal aperture at the upper end of the link is elongated to form a slot h, whereby the crank-pin G may have movement with respect thereto without affecting the position of the dust-pan. The crank G is located in a plane at right angles to the handle itself, as shown in Fig. 4:

When the handle is in its operative position or rearwardly inclined from the sweeper, the crank-pin G will occupy the lower end of the slot h, and the length of said slot is such that the handle may be moved to a perpendicular position before the said pin comes into engagement with the upper end of the slot and before, therefore, movement of the handle willhave any effect upon the sweepings-pan. When it is desired to tilt the pan to dump the sweepings,the handle may be moved forwardly past a perpendicular, (the position shown in Fig. 2,) and said movement of the handle will act through the crank and link to swing the rear end of the pan upwardly into the position shown in Fig. 4. The pivotrod F of the pan is located at such distance from the point of connection of the link with the pan that the movement of the crank through one-quarter of the circle will be sufficient to bring the pan to a perpendicular po sition. The handle itself need not be actually moved to the position shown in Fig. 4:; but the relative movement between the handle and the sweeper-casing may be eflfected by a corresponding movement of the sweepercasing.

In order to hold the pan upwardly in its proper operative position, I have herein shown a spring I, which is rigidly connected at one end with a part which is stationary with the casing and bears at its other end against a pin f projecting from the side of the pan. As herein shown, said spring I is made of wire and is attached at its stationary end to the disk B, located on the stub-shaft B between the brush-core and casing-wall. Said spring not only holds the pan in its normally uppermost position, but is so constructed as to permit the pan to be tilted to a perpendicular position and serves to return it to its normal position after being tilted. In order to prevent the spring from moving the pan upwardly out of its normal position, the spring I is shown as extended so as to be brought into contact at its extreme end with the shaft F when said pan is moved into its normal operative position.

J designates a second spring, which is attached at one end to a part stationary with the casing, and the other end of which is adapted for contact with the forward end of the sweeper in a manner to exert downward pressure thereon. Said spring J when the pan is in its normal position does not exert force against the pan to press it downwardly. When the sweeper is resting upon the carpet and no downward pressure is exerted thereon by the person using the same, the brush will be out of contact with the carpet, and the weight of the sweeper is carried by the driving-wheels and the pau-supportin g wheels F When downward pressure isexerted on the sweeper, it will cause the casing and brush to move downwardly with respect to the pan, whereby the spring J will be moved against the pan to exert the downward pressure thereon, and when said exterior pressure is relieved the spring will act to return the casingand brush to the normal uppermost, position, with the spring I in contact with the stop formed by the shaft F. Said spring J is herein shown as also attached to the washer B. As a desirable and an economical construction the said springs I J are made from a single piece of wire, which is bent around the disk B and rigidly attached thereto. The bowed part of the wire form ing the spring overlies the margin of said disk, and said disk is provided with a plurality of peripheral holding-prongs made integral therewith and which are folded over said spring in the mannershown in Figs. 2, 4, and 5. One of s'aid prongs engages a notch in the adjacent side wall of the casing, whereby it is held from rotation of the shaft B A partition K is interposed between the brush and the driving-wheels and driving-wheel shaft. Said partition consists of a plate or strip which extends transversely from one side wall to the other and is bent to conform to theshape of the rear end of the sweepingpan.

walls of the casinginthe manner shown. The purpose of said partition is to prevent the sweepings thrown rearwardlyfrom the brush 1 to be caught in the driving-wheels and the;

driving-wheel shaft. Said partition should extend to the .upper edges of the wallsof the pan, but need not necessarily extend below the same.

The forward edge of the top wall of the casingis bent downwardly perpendicular to the top wall, with its free margin in contact with the brush,and forms a scraper A which aids to keep the brush free from the sweepings part of the casing, so as to fall between the brush and the collapsible end-wall. It there- .fore serves as a shield as well as a scraper to scrape the sweepings from the brush, and .for

the purpose of ashield the said part may be bent backwardly, so as to engage the brushin rear of the position shown in the drawings.

While I have shown my invention as embodied in a carpet-sweeper, it will be obvious that some of the features thereofas, for instance, the collapsible front end of the casing-may be embodied in other analogous structures, such as a scrubbing-machine.

I claim as my inventionl. A casing for a carpet-sweeper provided with a collapsible front end comprising the front wall of the casing and the front ends of l the side Walls of the casing.

2. The combination with a casingof a carpet sweeper and a rotary compressible cleaner in the front end thereof, the front wall of the casing being constructed to collapse rearwardly a distance sufficient to permit the cleaner to clean the floor entirely to perpendicular objects higher than the sweeper-casing, and the front wall being attached to the casing above the cleaner and in rear of the vertical plane of theforward part thereof and extending in front of the cleaner withits lower edge below the center of the cleaner.

3. A casing for carpet-sweepers comprising a rigid part and a collapsible brush end, the latter embracing the front end wall of the easing and two rearwardly-directed side portions which overlap the front ends of the rigid side walls of the casing and permit the front end wall to move rearwardly when the casing strikes an upright object on the floor, said rigid parts of the casing terminating a distance in rear of the front end wall of the easing.

4. The combination with the casing of a carpet-sweeper and a brush in the front end of the casing, of a swinging guard connected at Said partition is held in place by be ing attached at its side margins to the side:

its upper edge to the casing aboveand in rear of the front of the brush and having its free edge extending in front of the brush, the side walls of the casing terminatingin rear of the guard to permit the guard to move rearwardly and compress the brush when the sweeper lSdIlOVGd again-st an upright object 'on the floor, said guard being constructed to swing back to its normal position when pressure there-against is relieved, whereby the brush may sweep entirely to perpendicular objects higher than the casing.

5. The combination with a casing of acarpet-sweeper and a rot ary com pressible cleaner in the front end thereof, the front wall of the casing being constructed to collapse rearwardly into the space normally occupied by the front of the compressible cleaner when pressure is applied to said wall, and to return to its normal position when the pressure is released.

6. A casing fora carpet-sweeper having the brush end thereof made collapsible and which collapsible brush end comprises a springguard and a flexible curtain.

7. A casing for a carpet-sweeper having the brush end thereof made of flexible material, and a spring-,, uard located between theflexible end of the casing and the brush.

8. The combination with a casing of a carpet-sweeper anda rotary compressible cleaner in the front end thereof, the front wallof the casing being constructed to collapse rearwardly a distance sufficient to permit the cleaner to clean the floor entirely to perpendicular objects higher than the sweeper-casing, said front wall being attached to thecasing above the cleaner and in rear of the vertical plane-of the forward part thereof and extending in front of the said cleaner with its lower edge below the center of the cleaner, a

driving-wheel, and mechanism for rotating said brush from the driving-wheel.

9. In a carpet-sweeper, thecombination of a casing the brush end of which is made collapsible, a brush mounted in said casing adjacent to said collapsible end in a manner to have contact with the floor, a driving-wheel, means for transmitting motion from the driving-wheel to the brush, and mechanism for rotating the brush in the same direction in both the backward and forward movements of the sweeper.

10. The combination with a casing, a rotative brush and adriving-wheel, of mechanism for transmitting motion from the drivingwheel to the brush, embracing a reversing mechanism which comprises two wheels, provided with reversely-operating ratc'hets and mounted loosely on a rotative shaft constituting a part of the transmitting mechanism, a pawl rotating with said shaft adapted for alternate engagement with said ratchets and operating connections between the last-mentioned wheels and brush.

11. The combination with a casing, a brush and a driving-wheel, of mechanism for transmitting motion from the driving-wheel to the brush, embracing two wheels which are mounted loosely, side by side, on a rotative shaft constituting a part of the transmitting f mechanism and provided with reversely-opashes,

a pawl pivoted to a part which is rigidw'i'tih "aid shaft and adapted for alternate engagementwitli said ratchets, said pawl being adapted to be throwninto enga'gement with one ratchet and out of engagement with the'otherratchet by the reversal Of -t'he direction of movement of the driving-wheeh and operating connections between the lastmentioned wheels and brush.

12. In a carpet-sweeper, the combination with a casing, a brush and a driving-wheel, of a train of gears for communicating motion "from the driving-wheel to the brush, com prisfrom said rotative shaft to either of saidgear-' wheels thereon, a rotative shaft, a fixed pining two idle gear-wheels, two other gear- ;wheels which loosely rotate on a rotative shaft and which severally mesh with the idle gearwheels, means for communicating motion driving-shaft, of means for, communicating motion from the shaft to the brush comprising twoidle gear-wheels, two driving gearwheels which rotate loosely on the drivingshaft, internal annular reversely-operating ratchet-teeth on said last-mentioned wheels,

7 apawl carried by the shaft which is adapted for alternate engagement with said ratchetteeth, a fixed pinion on the brush-shaft which meshes with one of the idle gear-wheels, a

loose. pinion meshing with said brush-shaft" pinion and intermeshingwith the other of said idle gear-wheels.

14. The combination with acasing and a rotary-brush therein, of a pivoted pan located in position to receive the sweepings from the rotative brush therein, ofa sweepings-pan pivoted at one end tothe casing and supported brush, a spring acting with a downward pressure to hold said pan in its normal operative position, and a spring acting to return the panto its normal position after it has been dumped.

15. The combination with a, casing and a brush therein, of a sweepings-pan pivoted at one end to the casing and adapted to be directly supported at its opposite end upon the floor, and a spring applied to said pan which acts to hold the brush away from the floor and yields to permit the brush to be depressed.

16. The combination witha casing and a rotary brush therein, of a sweepings-pan pivoted to the casing and adapted for support at its other end directly from the floor, a spring acting with an upward pressure to hold the swinging end of the pan in its normal posi- .tion, a spring between the pan and casin g acting to normally hold the brush out of contact oted to the casing, a bowed spring connected at its bow thereof to the casing, one end of which acts upon the swinging end of the pan With a downward pressure and the other end -of which acts upon the pan with an upward pressure.

18. The combination with a casing,and a rotarybrush therein, of a sWeepings-pan'pivoted to the casing, a stationary disk mounted on the brush-shaft between the brush-core and the casing-wallga bowed spring, the bow whereof incloses said'disk, peripheral prongs on the disk for attaching said spring thereto,

one end of said spring acting on the swinging end of the pan with a downward pressure, and

the other end'of the spring acting uponsaid pan with an upward pressure.

19. Thecombinationwithacasing,andarotal y brush therein, of a sweepings-pan pivoted to the casing, a disk mounted on the brush-shaftl -between the brush and the wall of the casing and provided with a plurality of peripheral prongs", a bowed spring which incloses said disk and which is attached to said disk by means of saidprongs, one of said prongs engaging a notch in the casing-wall to hold the diskrigid therewith and one end of the said spring acting with a down ward pressure on the swinging end of the pan, while the other end of the spring acts with an upward pressure against said pan.

20. The combination with a casing and a rotary brush therein, of a stub-shaft constituting a bearing forone end of said brush, a disk surrounding the shaft between the brush and the wall of the casing, screw-threaded connections between said shaft and disk, a head on the outer end of the shaft engaging the outer face of the casing-wall, and a peripheral prong on the disk for attachinga pancontrolling spring thereto.

21. The combination with a casing and a at its otheriend from the floor, an operating- .handle provided at one end with a crank, and a link connecting said crank and pan.

22. The combination with a casing, a brush in the front end thereof, and a pair of driving-wheels located in therear. end of the easing, of a sweepings-pan which is located in the rear of the brush, the rear portion of said pan being located between the driving-wheels, and a partition extending between the side walls of the casing, between the brush and the driving-wheels,and conformed to and having its lower edge adjacent to the pan.

23. The combination with a casing, and a brush in the front end thereof, of means for rotatively securing the brush in the casing embracing a gudgeon in the brush-core, the side wall of the casing being provided at its front end with a forwardly opening slot through which the gudgeon passes and in the rear end of which the gudgeon has bearing, and a strip removably attached to the outer face of the casing-wall, which extends across the slot in front of the gudgeon, and constituting the forward side of the bearing for the gudgeon.

24. The combination with a casing having in the front end of one of its side walls, a forwardly-opening slot, and in the other wall an aperture, and a brush in the forward end of the casing, of means for relatively mounting the brush therein, comprising a gudgeon on one end of the brush core which passes through said slot and has bearing in the rear end thereof, and a pin which passes through said wall-aperture and engages at its inner end an axial socket in the core and forming a journal therefor.

25. The combination with a casing having in the front end of one of its side walls a forwardly-opening slot, and in the other wall an aperture, and a brush in the forward end of the casing, of means for rotatively mounting the brush therein, comprising a gudgeon on one end of the brush -core which passes through said slot and has bearing in the rear end thereof, a shaft which passes through the wall-aperture, a stationary disk on the inner surface of the wall with which the shaft has screw-threaded engagement, and a head on the outer end of the shaft, said shaft engaging at its inner end an axial aperture on the brush-core and forming a bearing therefor.

26. A carpet-sweeper having a casing the main portion of which is made rigid and the brush end of which is made collapsible, said collapsible end including the front wall and the forward ends of the side walls of the oasing, and means for removably attaching said collapsible brush end of the casing to the other part thereof.

27. A carpet-sweeper having a casing, the 

